The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of peach tree which will hereinafter be denominated varietally as the "Island King" peach tree and, more particularly, to a peach tree which produces clingstone fruit, which are mature for commercial harvesting and shipment approximately April 23 to April 25 in the San Joaquin Valley of central California as a very early, fresh market peach with a good red blush skin coloration.
In the development of new commercial varieties of fruit trees, a premium is frequently placed upon those varieties which produce fruit ripening early or late in the growing season when few competing varieties are available. However, typically such varieties are otherwise of marginal commercial appeal in that the fruit is of poor size, flavor, or coloration, or may suffer from any one or more other undesirable characteristics. These deficiencies are frequently more pronounced in the very earliest and very latest ripening varieties. Thus, in many instances a very early or very late ripening new variety, which otherwise would be a good candidate from commercial development, may be deemed unworthy because of one or more fatal flaws in these respects. The peach tree of the subject invention appears, conversely, to be a promising candidate in that while being a very early ripening variety, it does not appear to suffer from any such fatal flaws.